Bradley Manning: Did Homophobia Make Him Leak?

I mentioned this briefly in last night's links roundup, but it's become a pretty big deal: Private First Class Bradley Manning, the Army intelligence specialist who allegedly leaked hundreds of thousands of classified documents to Wikileaks, has officially made his sexual orientation a keystone of his defense. From Salon:

The young Army intelligence specialist accused of passing government secrets spent his 24th birthday in court Saturday as his lawyers argued his status as a gay soldier before the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” played an important role in his actions.

Lawyers for Pfc. Bradley Manning began laying out a defense to show that his struggles as a gay soldier in an environment hostile to homosexuality contributed to mental and emotional problems that should have barred him from having access to sensitive material.

So: Manning — whose defenders have spent countless hours and expended countless millions of breaths proclaiming his nobility and rectitude — is now tacitly acknowledging that the Wikileaks leak was a wrong and regrettable thing, and that he'd never have done it if he was in his right mind. Whether he really believes that, or whether he's only saying it because his spirit was broken by ten months in solitary confinement in some dank Army oubliette, is unknowable. What is knowable, and queasy-making, is that lawyers are now arguing in a military courtroom that gays can't be trusted with classified material until the military is purged of homophobia.

As it happens, Manning's lawyers aren't the first attorneys to make that argument in recent memory. Ann Coulter made it months ago, in an article entitled "Bradley Manning: Poster Boy For 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'." Maybe he should hire her. It'd definitely score points with the allegedly homophobic military personnel hearing his case.

Latest Posts

PUERTO RICO. Trump claims it’s “very important to me,” plans trip next week. SEPTEMBER 2017. The most active month on record for Atlantic hurricanes, and the season ain’t over. September 2017 was the most active month on recor… Read

Birmingham has become the first city in Alabama to pass an LGBTQ-inclusive ordinance which includes protections from discrimination in housing, public accommodation and employment on the basis of real or perceived race, color, religion, national orig… Read

Malaysia’s Immigration Department is working with police and the Malaysia Islamic Development Department (Jakim) to ban from the country people who could be attempting to enter for a beer festival and “gay party.” Malaysian authorities ha… Read

The Department of Justice and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) are set to argue against each other today in a case concerning a man who was fired from his job as a skydiving instructor because of his sexual orientation. The 2nd Circ… Read

Barry Dennen, the Broadway actor famous for his role in Jesus Christ Superstar, who became a mentor to Barbra Streisand as she rose to fame, has died, Deadline reports: He was 79 and had suffered a brain injury after a fall at home in June, according… Read

Frances Abbott, the daughter of former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, speaks out against her father’s anti-gay views in a new ad urging Australians to vote ‘yes’ in the postal vote underway on marriage equality. Says Abbott,… Read

Check out our weekly guide to TV this week, and make sure you’re catching the big premieres, crucial episodes and the stuff you won’t admit you watch when no one’s looking. The latest must-see news-comedy program is The Opposition with Jordan Klepper… Read

Seth Meyers took ‘A Closer Look’ at Donald Trump’s attacks on black athletes and the NFL last night, starting with his comments referring to Colin Kaepernick as a “son of a bitch” who should be fired for taking a knee du… Read